Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities - Meridian , Mississippi

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Meridian, Mississippi, nicknamed “Queen City,” was incorporated in 1860. Thanks to the railroads and the goods transported on them, Meridian held the position of the largest city in Mississippi between 1890 and 1930. This leading center of manufacturing attracted many immigrants including Jews. Members of Meridian’s Jewish community made significant contributions to the civic, economic, and social life. According to former Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith, “Meridian was born of the railroads. But it was great, cultured Jewish mercantile families, mostly immigrants from Germany, who raised it up and breathed life into it.”

Early settlers:Recorded Jewish life in Lauderdale County begins in the town of Marion, located just six miles from the center of present-day Meridian. County land records show that David Rosenbaum purchased land in the town in 1837. The families of Abraham Threefoot, Isaac Rosenbaum, Leopold Rosenbaum, E. Lowenstein, and Jacob Cohen also lived in Marion during these early years. After the Civil War had wreaked havoc on eastern Mississippi, many families relocated from Marion to Meridian after the city was rebuilt and entered a Golden Age.By 1869, ten Jewish families lived in Meridian. Among them was a civil war veteran by the name of Abe Klein. According to the Meridian star, there existed “no braver man nor loyal son of the 42nd Alabama than he.” After the war, Klein became chairman of the county Democratic Executive Committee and actively fought to preserve the “valor of the Confederate soldier.” His grave inscription also described him as a “loyal son of the Confederacy and of Israel.”

Late 19th Century Meridian: A Thriving MetropolisBy 1878, the Meridian Jewish community boasted 160 people. Jewish merchants established themselves in Meridian with many successful stores along Front Street. The city continued to flourish during the 1880s, adding electricity, running water, a sewage system, and paved streets and sidewalks within its limits. By 1885 the city became the railroad center of eastern Mississippi because of its unique location at the junction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, the Alabama and Vicksburg Railroad, the Alabama Great Southern Railroad, and the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad. The community of incoming early Jewish immigrants embraced and enhanced their adopted city, bolstering its economy and civic life. By 1886, the Meridian correspondent for The American Israelite reported that Jews ranked “high in social and commercial circles,” especially in the latter. Many fine examples of architecture remain in downtown Meridian, attesting to the memory of the bustling railroad era and bearing Jewish names that commemorate the community’s contribution to Meridian’s grandeur. For instance, Winner-Klein and Company, established in 1873, boasted an imposing four-story edifice. A victim of the Great Depression, Winner and Klein gave way to Sears, Roebuck and Company in 1934.

Marks Rothenberg & Company: Israel A. Marks, a German-born immigrant, came in through the port of New Orleans. He began his career as a peddler supplying rural families with dry good and traveled as far as Alexandria, Louisiana to sell his wares. In 1870, he opened a wholesale dry goods business in Meridian, and in the 1880s consolidated his business with that of Lichtenstein and Company. The combined operation encompassed nearly an entire block of Front Street. After Lichtenstein’s departure in 1887, Marks began a company with his three half-brothers: Sam, Levi, and Marks Rothenberg. Their operation, Marks, Rothenberg & Company, became one of the largest wholesale grocery and dry goods businesses in the South. In 1899, they opened a mammoth five-story location. They eventually consolidated the grocery division with the Meridian’s Threefoot Brothers in 1890. All four partners of the Marks, Rothenberg Company were leading citizens in Meridian. Levi Rothenberg was the president of Meridian’s first bank, which opened in 1870 and eventually became the most powerful financial institution in the state by 1907. Rothenberg was also an early member of the fire brigade and served on the water works and insurance commissions.Israel Marks and his brothers also played an instrumental role in establishing Highland Park, donating much of the land for it. Marks served as president of the park commission from its formation until his death in 1914. A statue of Marks still adorns the park. In addition to these many civic contributions, the proprietors of Marks, Rothenberg and Company are perhaps best known for building the Grand Opera House next to their downtown store. Completed in 1890, the Opera House attracted performers from all over the United States to the growing railroad and business center of Meridian, Mississippi. The first presentation was Johann Strauss’s opera, The Gypsy Brown. The performance included twenty-five full sets of scenary painted by Sossman and Landes of Chicago. Over the years, the list of performers included Clarke Gable, Norma Shears, Sarah Bernhardt, Otis Skinner, and Maude Adams. During the intermission, servers brought tea and cakes to patrons at their seats, if ordered in advance. Men trying to impress their dates often ordered boxes of chocolate from Netters. After lying dormant for almost 80 years, this gift of the Marks and Rothenberg families to the city of Meridian has recently been restored to its original glory and performers once again grace its majestic stage.

The Baum, Lyon and Rosenbaum families: In the 1870s, Joseph Baum, an immigrant from Boosen, Prussia, established a large business in Meridian. At age 25, he operated a wholesale and retail dry goods store which also bought large amounts of cotton from local farmers. The business would eventually encompass an entire city block, which became known as the “Baum Block.” In 1892, A.J. Lyon and Company began occupying the “Baum Block.” Lyon, with his brothers-in-law Ike and Mike Rosenbaum, became known as east Mississippi’s number one wholesale grocer, a title that the business kept for 50 years. I.A. Rosenbaum, son of Ike, recalled that during the Great Depression, his father would allow people to purchase merchandise on credit as long as they had been fair and honest in their dealings. J.D. Clark & Son was one such store which benefitted from this generous policy. When Clark heard his Presbyterian minister declare that Jews would not go to heaven, he got up and walked out saying, “if Ike Rosenbaum can’t go, I don’t want to go.”

Forming a community:Meridian grew into one of the largest Jewish communities in the state. In 1927, 575 Jews lived in Meridian. The great economic success of Meridian Jews and the influx of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe during the late 19th century led to the formation of two synagogues in the city. Meridian Jews formed Beth Israel in 1868. By 1874, they had joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and embraced Reform Judaism. When Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe began to arrive, they preferred a more traditional style of worship. Rather than joining Beth Israel, these new immigrants formed their own Orthodox congregation, Ohel Jacob. Members of the Orthodox congregation worked hard to balance their traditional practice and the demands of their new home, and had to make many compromises. In the early 20th century, Ohel Jacob held Saturday morning services from 6 am to 8 am so its members could open their stores by 9. Meridian Jews formed social clubs as well. Like Natchez, the Jews of Meridian formed The Standard Club as a Jewish clubhouse.

20th Century Jewish Businesses:Over the course of the twentieth century, Jewish businesses dominated the city’s downtown. These included Levy & Tannebaum Confectionary; Lowenstein & Brothers Grocery; Eagle Cotton Oil Company; Strauss & Lerner Jewelry Store; Metzger & Kahn wholesale and retail grocers; and many others. Louis H. Arky built a five story hotel of the same name in 1907. Louis Davidson founded the St. Louis Junk Company, which grew into the Southern Pipe and Supply Company and continues to operate as a successful family-run business today. Meridian Jews sometimes went into business with non-Jews, a phenomenon which reflects the degree to which Jews successfully assimilated. Harold Meyer and Hunter Webb founded the Meywebb Hosiery Mills in 1930. Meyer later built the Lamar Hotel, which now serves as the county office building.

Civic and communal involvement:The Jewish community took an active part in Meridian’s civic and social life. Rabbi Judah Wechsler, Beth Israel’s spiritual leader, was invited to give the sermon at Thanksgiving services at the Presbyterian Church in 1887, an early example of interfaith collaboration that became common in Mississippi towns. Wechsler became heavily involved in the issue of African American education. He led the movement to provide public school facilities for blacks during a time of racial segregation. In 1888, Rabbi Wechsler campaigned for a bond issue to construct the first brick public school building for African Americans. When the bond issue passed, Meridian’s black community asked that the new school be named in the rabbi’s honor. The Wechsler School still stands today and is being restored as community arts center. Meridian Jews were heavily involved in civic affairs as well. I.A. Rosenbaum served as mayor for eight years. In addition to serving as mayor, he served as the city as president of the Meridian Industrial Foundation, as a member of the executive committee of the Economic Development Board, and as a member of the Meridian Municipal Separate School Board.

Meridian youth:During the 20th century, several Jewish children in Meridian succeeded in the classroom and the playing field. William Pappenheimer was voted the most valuable athlete of Mississippi State in 1909. An honorary captain of the football team, he won distinctions in both baseball and basketball. Abie Levy won the distinguished memorial prize for excellence in the scientific study at Riverview Academy, while attending a military boarding school in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was also awarded the coveted Iron cross for being the most adept cadet at military drills.

The Meridian sky scraper:At 16 stories tall, The Threefoot Building remains the tallest building in the city. The structure is named after the Threefoot family, Jewish-German immigrants who changed their name from Dreyfuss to better reflect their new American home. Abraham Threefoot began to make a name for the family in the late 1860s. He owned a grocery store on 25th Avenue in mid-1870. The business moved at least once to a different location on the same street in 1884.The business was taken over by Abraham's sons–H. Marshall, Kutcher, and Lewis, collectively known as the "Threefoot Brothers"–after his death. By 1910, sales at Threefoot and Sons exceeded $100,000 per year. Economic success translated into civic involvement and donation to charitable causes. Kutcher Threefoot served for a number of years on the Board of the Meridian Public Schools. The Threefoot Brothers donated $35,000 to finish the YMCA building after the builders ran into financial trouble. Success for the Threefoot family would not endure as the 20th century progressed. Just before the beginning of the Great Depression, the company built the skyscraper on 22nd Avenue adjacent to the Marks-Rothenberg Department Store and the Grand Opera House. The building was finished in 1929. Few cities as small as Meridian had such a remarkable building at that time. Unfortunately, the construction of a 16 story skyscraper left the family in virtual bankruptcy during the Depression. They were forced to sell, and the building continued under different ownership as an office building for several decades.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979.

The first female Rabbi: Paula Ackerman:Another rabbi who left a significant mark on Meridian was Paula Ackerman. When her husband, Rabbi William Ackerman, died suddenly in 1950, Meridian’s Beth Israel congregation asked Paula to serve as their spiritual leader until they could find a replacement. For three years, a Ackerman acted as Beth Israel’s full-time rabbi, leading services and even performing weddings. Paula’s pioneering tenure was twenty years before the first woman was officially ordained in the United States. When she delivered sermons to soldiers stationed at Key Field, Ackerman gave sermons that used themes drawn from the war such as “Arsenal of the Spirit,” and “The Price of Freedom.” Rabbi Ackerman also led a Seder at Key Field on the first night of Passover.

The Civil Rights Era:

Meridian’s Jewish community was often ambivalent towards the Civil Rights Movement. When Michael and Rita Schwerner, two Jews from New York, came to Meridian in 1964 to organize a voting rights campaign, they received a cool reception from the Meridian Jewish community. Southern Jews feared being associated with “outside agitators.” Several Jews, including Rabbi Milton Schlager, found time to meet with the Schwerners, and expressed sympathy for the goals of the movement but questioned the young activists’ tactics. Many Jews in the community feared retaliation from the Klan, and these fears were not unfounded. Evidence suggests that Klan members specifically targeted Michael Schwerner, at least partly because he was Jewish. When Schwerner was abducted and murdered along with fellow civil rights workers James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, moderate Jews in Meridian were further scared into silence.The turmoil of the Civil Rights era unleashed an unusual incident of anti-Semitism from some segments of the larger Meridian community. Over the span of Meridian’s history, these attacks stand out as the exception rather than the rule. Because Jews played an integral part of Meridian’s leadership, their presence helped to ensure a more moderate response of Meridian to the Civil Rights Movement. Indeed, Klan members waited for Cheney, Goodman, and Schwerner to travel to a different county before they abducted them because they knew Meridian’s city leadership would not tolerate such violence.A group of Ku Klux Klan members from Jackson, who bombed the temple and rabbi’s house there, also bombed the new education building of Meridian’s Congregation Beth Israel in 1968. When they returned later to bomb the home of Meyer Davidson, an outspoken leader of the Jewish community, they were captured by police after a shootout. Leaders of the Meridian and Jackson Jewish communities had raised money to pay a Klan informant, who tipped off the FBI about the attack on Davidson. Thomas Albert Tarrants III, surprised by police as he attempted to plant the bomb, was arrested after a running gun battle with police.Despite these fears, many Meridian Jews worked to change the city’s system of racial discrimination. Several local Jews joined an interfaith group called the Committee of Concern, which pushed for the prosecution of people who burned black churches. When Meridian agreed to integrate its schools, Lucille Rosenbaum, a Jewish member of the school board received death threats. The Klan also targeted other prominent Meridian Jews who called for integration.

Downtown restoration:Meridian's downtown core had begun to disappear after World War II. Citizens began to move away from downtown in favor of new subdivisions to the north. In an attempt to save the historic nature of the city's downtown district, several areas were designated historic districts in the 1970s and 80s. William Entrekin, I.A. Rosenbaum, and Irving Hall began circulating downtown restoration ideas in 1977 and started restoring buildings in the early 1980s. In 2001, the Rosenbaum Building was renovated and reopened containing condominiums on the upper floors and retail stores on the street level.

Recent history:It’s impossible to separate the story of Meridian’s Jews from the story of the city itself. Jews have been closely involved in Meridian’s development since its founding. The Jewish role in Meridian’s history is etched in the city’s downtown buildings where the names Marks-Rothenberg, Rosenbaum, Davidson, Loeb, Threefoot, Meyer, and others testify to the great Jewish leaders who helped build the city. But that legacy is fading as the Jewish community has declined in recent years. Today, around 30 Jewish families remain in Meridian, most of whom are elderly. Ohel Jacob closed in the early 1990s, and Beth Israel no longer has a full-time rabbi. Though few in number, their historical legacy speaks volumes to their impact on the town.

Prominent Meridian women:Amelia Greenwald was commonly referred to as the Jewish Florence Nightingale. Hailed in the Paris Times in 1927 as “capable and efficient….a born nurse, an organizer, and a leader of women,” she became one of the outstanding women in the history of nursing. Born in Alabama, she and her family eventually settled in Meridian. All are interred in the Beth Israel cemetery. Against her family’s wishes, Amelia enrolled in the school of nursing at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. She did her postgraduate work in psychiatric nursing at The Johns Hopkins University, followed by more postgraduate work in public health nursing at Columbia University in New York. During World War I, she served with the American Expeditionary Force as chief nurse in several of their hospitals. Following the war, she was selected by Herbert Hoover to go to Warsaw Poland to establish Poland’s first school of nursing at the Jewish hospital. After three years, she returned to New York for a year to work on public health projects. While there, she accepted the invitation of the Hadassah Medical Organization to spend a year surveying nursing services in Palestine. Amelia died in 1966. Her gravestone bears the simple inscription: “Nurse, Army Nurse Corps, World War I.” Meridian resident Dorothy Lerner moved to Meridian with her husband William Lerner, Jr. after World War II. She and her husband co-owned Lerner Jewelry Store and Fine Brothers Matison. Dorothy was one of the founding members of the Meridian Symphony Orchestra. She began playing viola with the Meridian symphony in the early 1960s, and was a graduate of Newcomb University where she studied violin and voice. She recruited Vernon Raines, then professor at Livingston State College in Alabama, to lead the newly formed orchestra. He remained in that role for 30 years. From 1960 to 1971, Lerner taught in the Meridian public school system. She also helped in the production of Meridian Matinee Musicals program. Rabbi Dr. Max Raison came to Meridian to lead the congregation in 1905. The one-time president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and an author of over 20 books in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew came to this country in 1892. In Meridian, he found Jews who appreciated his intellectual work. While in Meridian, he wrote, “The Reform Movement as Reflected in the New Hebrew Literature.” His work in Meridian attracted the attention of civic workers of that state. He worked tirelessly for changes in the labor laws affecting black children, hoping to end their economic persecution, an activism that caused consternation for some members of his congregation. He had some success in contributing to the passage of a law limiting the number of hours a week both black women and children were allowed to work. In 1912, he actively supported B’nai B’rith’s petition to cancel the United States trade agreement with Russia because it would not honor passports of American Jews, an action that merited an honorary law degree from the University of Mississippi at the direction of the state governor. He left Meridian in 1913 to assume the pulpit at Shaare Zedek in Brooklyn, NY.